The α-galactosidase type A gene aglA from Aspergillus niger encodes a fully functional α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase

Abstract

Two genes in the genome of Aspergillus niger, aglA and aglB, have been assigned to encode for α-D-galactosidases variant A and B. However, analyses of primary and 3D structures based on structural models of these two enzymes revealed significant differences in their active centers suggesting important differences in their specificity for the hydrolyzed carbohydrates.

To test this unexpected finding, a large screening of libraries from 42 strains of filamentous fungi succeeded in identifying an enzyme from A. niger CCIM K2 that exhibited both α-galactosidase and α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase activities, with the latter activity predominating.

Keywords

• 1.9 angstrom structure
• mass-spectrometry
• clostridium-perfringens
• catalytic nucleophile
• molecular-basis
• purification
• identification
• diseases
• α-galactosidase
• aglA
• Aspergillus niger
• α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase